Thursday, June 07, 2007

Had to have a Glengoyne in this run-up to Malt Mission 100. Great people, adorable distillery, fantastic whiskies. Always. These factors mixed with proximity to Glasgow makes this a must-visit distillery.

The current Glengoyne marketing lines are, "The Real taste of Malt" and/or, "The Authentic taste of Malt Whisky untainted by Peat Smoke." Glengoyne does not use peat to dry their malted barley, and practices unusually slow distillation. These are just two of the special touches that make Glengoyne such a unique whisky. For more see Malt Missions 5 and 50.

This expression is matured in specially selected first fill European oak sherry casks, and Robbie Hughes, the distillery manager took great care to ensure the right casks were used and that the new 21yo would fit in as the pinnacle of the Glengoyne core range. The packaging has been changed, following the updated 10 and 17 tubes, to reflect the premium nature of the new 21 yo.Thanks to Iain Weir for sending me a sample of this release.*- this is the price of the new 100% sherry cask release. The old 21yo can still be found for around £60.

Much brighter than I expected, fruity and even tart off the top, then erupts with body, rich dry toasty oak then sherry and spices that stick around for ages. Ginger biscuits, licorice root, and crisp apples can be found along the ride. In no hurry to finish.

SUMMARY:

For me, the obvious parallel to this is the Macallan 18yo, 100% sherry casks, golden promise barley, similar price point. The reality is that the average wo/man who walks into a shop and grabs a Macallan cuz they want a Macallan, may never have heard of Glengoyne. Well, hear ye, hear ye; If you are already a Macallan drinker, then you must try Glengoyne. Macallan will still be there in the morning, should you not be glenblown away. Variety is the spice of (whisky) life.

The flavour development is very much consistent with the Glengoyne style in the shifting of dimensions from oak influence to malt influence and back again, and it is great that they have managed to capture the best of that again. For me, some of the buttery malt taste that makes younger expressions so sumptuous is lost to some of the more powerful dry sherry notes. And I mean powerful and dry. Mood malt. As it is, I personally struggle financially to keep a bottle of Glengoyne 17yo on my shelf, but if I could, this beauty would find its way up there as well. Sure it wouldnt disappear at the same rate, but it certainly deserves a chance. Hearty, heart-warming, uplifting, outstanding.